Esophageal Leiomyoma: Radiologic Findings in 12 Patients

  • Po Song Yang (Department of Radiology, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine ) ;
  • Kyung Soo Lee (Department of Radiology, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine ) ;
  • Soon Jin Lee (Department of Radiology, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine ) ;
  • Tae Sung Kim (Department of Radiology, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine ) ;
  • In-Wook Choo (Department of Radiology, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine ) ;
  • Young Mog Shim (Department of Thoracic Surgery, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine ) ;
  • Kwhanmien Kim (Department of Thoracic Surgery, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine ) ;
  • Yookyung Kim (Department of Radiology, Ewha Womans University Mokdong Hospital)
  • Received : 2001.05.03
  • Accepted : 2001.07.05
  • Published : 2001.09.30

Abstract

Objective: The aim of our study was to describe and compare the radiologic findings of esophageal leiomyomas. Materials and Methods: The chest radiographic (n = 12), esophagographic (n = 12), CT (n = 12), and MR (n = 1) findings of surgically proven esophageal leiomyomas in 12 consecutive patients [ten men and two women aged 34 - 47 (mean, 39) years] were retrospectively reviewed. Results: The tumors, surgical specimens of which ranged from 9 to 90 mm in diameter, were located in the upper (n = 1), middle (n = 5), or lower esophagus (n = 6). In ten of the 12 patients, chest radiography revealed the tumors as mediastinal masses. Esophagography showed them as eccentric, smoothly elevated filling defects in 11 patients and a multilobulated encircling filling defect in one. In 11 of the 12 patients, enhanced CT scans revealed a smooth (n = 9) or lobulated (n = 2) tumor margin, and attenuation was homogeneously low (n = 7) or iso (n = 4). In one patient, the tumor signal seen on T2-weighted MR images was slightly high. Conclusion: Esophageal leiomyomas, located mainly in the middle or distal esophagus, are consistently shown by esophagography to be mainly eccentrically elevated filling defects and at CT, lesions showing homogeneous low or isoattenuation are demonstrated.

Keywords

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